Expedient Technological Behavior in the Aurignacian of Southern Italy

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Expedient Technological Behavior: Global Perspectives and Future Directions" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The role of expedient behaviors in the Upper Paleolithic has often been overshadowed by the study of more elaborate technologies to produce bladelets. This disparity in research focus is particularly evident in the Aurignacian context. Little discussion exists surrounding the use of cost-effective methods to produce stone tools with non-standardized characteristics from low-quality raw materials. However, archaeological and ethnographic data indicate that expedient technologies are frequent throughout human history, with changes in their significance often linked to the higher focus of archaeologists on high-cost technologies. This presentation aims to illuminate the significance of expedient technological behavior in the southern Italian Aurignacian, which emerged around 41,000 years ago, replacing the Uluzzian. The latter is often associated with minimal technological investment in stone tool production, mostly relying on bipolar knapping to produce a limited range of formal tools. However, bipolar technology remains well-attested in the southern Italian Aurignacian. During this presentation, we will thus explore questions such as, to what extent is bipolar technology associated with expedient behavior? How does the availability and quality of raw materials influence this context? Is there a correlation between reduction intensity and core technological investment? Are there commonalities in expedient technologies throughout the early Upper Paleolithic?

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Expedient Technological Behavior: Global Perspectives and Future Directions   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38869.0